Stevie Wonder Research Paper

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Stevie Wonder, even blind, was one of the most loved and talented musicians in his time and more generations to come. Wonder had always had a passion for music and wrote many songs that left a mark on his generation. He lives like any other normal person would, he goes to the store, takes walks, and listens to music just like the rest of us do. Most people think that blindness would be a terrible disability to have, but there are perks as well. Wonder was born premature and blind with a disability called retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) he also had a dislocated nerve in one eye and a cataract in the other (Brown 6). ROP can be either caused by the scarring of the baby's retina due to improper development of blood vessels (Marcovitz 22)…show more content…
Being blind he had better hearing, so he had a big advantage when writing and playing music (Clash Music). There were also disadvantages to being blind for example when his son was driving him to a concert a log fell out of the back of a truck, and with no knowledge that he should have moved, it hit Wonder straight in the forehead. He was in a coma for weeks. When his friend came to see him in the hospital, the friend started to play Wonder's songs. Wonder started to tap his finger along with the music and woke up (Brown 60 61). After Wonder had gotten out of his coma, he lost his sense of taste and smell temporarily. His blindness still affected him though. He could not see loved ones, pictures, or important documents (CNN). That did not and never will stop him from writing the music that he…show more content…
At the age of only thirteen he got a record deal. Then at ten his brother started to take him to Motown Recording Studio in Detroit. Wonder came there after school every day and would play around with the drums and keyboards. Everyone in the studio started calling him little boy wonder (Cengage Learning). Only twelve years old he had his first chart topper,”Fingertips Part 2” in the album “The Twelve Year Old Genius” (CNN). After his first chart topper and record deal he started to prosper and grow. He received a lifetime achievement award, NAACP Hall of Fame award (Brown 96), Billboard century award (CNN), and about twenty Grammys through his whole career (Cengage Learning). He has met two presidents, President Obama who presented him with the Library of Congress’s Gershwin prize (Brown 96) and President Nixon who presented him with an award for service to the employment of the handicapped (Gale). Next in 2011 Wonder was inducted into the Apollo Legends Hall of Fame for music. He was a Kennedy center Honoree and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (CNN). Currently his total record sales over the course of his life have been seventy million (cengage
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